A man who was caught drug driving twice within 24 hours has been handed a 3-year driving ban.
James Murcell, 44, of Canning Court in Newport, pleaded guilty to 2x drug driving when he appeared before the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Ann Smout, prosecuting, told the court that on 5th January, at around 15:50, on-duty Police officers saw a green Seat Arosa on Staplers Road that didn’t indicate when attempting to turn. They followed the vehicle and pulled Murcell over.
Once Murcell was out of the car, officers immediately noticed the smell of cannabis coming from him and from his car. The 44-year-old agreed to a roadside drugs wipe which returned a positive result.
At Newport Police Station, 2 blood samples were taken, the lowest of which gave a reading of 11ug/l – the legal limit is 2ug/l.
The next day – 6th January – officers saw Murcell drive over a pavement to get to a parking space on Taylor Road in Newport. As had happened the day before, Murcell was taken to Newport Police Station where blood tests were carried out. On this occasion the lowest reading was 4.7ug/l.
Defending, Barry Keel said that the unemployed carer was using cannabis for palliative reasons after a family incident. He also added that the 44-year-old didn’t appreciate how long cannabis stays in the system and that he had stopped using the Class B drug since the incident in question.
Magistrates handed Murcell a 3-year ban. He was fined £208 and ordered to pay £85 costs and an £83 surcharge fee.
The incident dated 6th January was due to be heard this coming Friday. At that hearing, Murcell would have automatically been made subject to a mandatory 3-year ban for driving whilst disqualified.
He obviously has a blatant disregard for the law. So will he abide by his 3 year driving ban I wonder? Another idiot taken off the road, hopefully!